The invention relates to an operating mechanism for a parking brake.
An operating mechanism for a parking brake is known from German Document DE 195 21 159 C2. This operating mechanism comprises a manual brake lever which is positioned so as to pivot on a bearing block. A single activation rod is provided for operating the parking brake, wherein this activation rod engages in a locking device. The activation rod extends inside a tubular housing for the manual brake lever. A push button is provided on the front end of the activation rod which projects outside the tubular housing and can thus be operated by a user.
The locking device includes a locking segment and a detent. The locking segment is attached to the bearing block and comprises a strip with locking teeth. The detent is positioned so as to pivot on a bearing journal of the manual brake lever and is pre-tensioned via a spring element. For this, the detent is positioned in such a way on the bearing journal that it is divided into two pivoting arms, with one arm extending on each side of the bearing journal. Detent noses are provided at one end of the first pivoting arm, and latch into the locking teeth on the locking segment in order to fixate the detent on the locking segment. The end of the second pivoting arm is attached via a hinged connection to the lower end of the activation rod.
The operating mechanism functions such that a pivoting movement of the manual brake lever is transmitted to a traction means, such as a pull rod. The manual brake lever is secured with the aid of the locking device in a desired end position on the bearing block by allowing the detent to engage in the pin segment and is kept in said position by the force of the spring element.
With known operating mechanisms, the installation of the locking device is relatively time-consuming. Attaching the spring element, in particular, may be very involved since it must be inserted on the side, between segments of the manual brake lever, for the installation on the manual brake lever and must be fixated on or in the region of the detent. Since the installation of the spring element must be realized with a fully-installed manual brake lever and thereon positioned detent, typically very little clearance space is available for inserting the spring element, which further complicates the installation.